Lydia has never particularly struggled with a fear of speaking, and she decided she was going to debate at age 10. (Seriously, who turns down the chance to talk about whatever you want in an environment where other people have to listen? It’s awesome.)
So, at the age of 12 (NATO year), she launched into debate and loved it from the beginning. In addition to having an audience to talk to, Lydia fell in love with researching pretty early on (she is very proud of the fact that her first brief was 20 pages long, making it officially longer than Peter Voell’s first brief).
Since then, Lydia hasn’t been able to stop debating, despite numerous attempts. And between involvement with her local Vector debate club, the HSD Research Club, and Ethos, it seems unlikely she will ever really get away from debate. When it comes to debate research and strategy, Lydia likes creative negative strategies, common sense approaches, and arguments that don’t contradict each other. And as the manager/primary editor of the Ethos sourcebook(s), she gets to do more brainstorming and critiquing than anybody could ever ask for. She plans on spending summer 2011 sitting in a corner, reading law reviews, listening to too much of her favorite music, and pretending to be a hermit.
Lydia is a scholar-debater. She is studying Arabic, reads massive books like On the Origins of War and the Preservation of Peace, likes the Federalist papers, and constantly is challenging herself with new reading materials. She’s a great person to ask for any book recommendation, especially when it comes to foreign policy.
Some of Lydia’s debate accomplishments include:
- 13th Place, NCFCA National Championship, 2010
- 6th Place, NCFCA National Championship, 2009
- 10th Place, NCFCA National Championship, 2008
- 3rd Place, Region IX Regional Championship, 2011
- 3rd Place, Region IX Regional Championship, 2010
- 2nd Place, Region IX Regional Championship, 2009